A new six-episode series adaptation of author Paul Preuss’ novels, “Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime,” is set to enter production later this year, and Variety reports that “Star Trek” stalwart Jonathan Frakes will direct.

Jonathan Frakes joins the producing team that includes showrunners and executive producers David Cormican (“Tokyo Trial”) and Dwayne Hill (“Northern Rescue”).

“When the materials for ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime’ were presented to me, I couldn’t help but devour them,” Frakes told Variety. “When asked if I wanted to direct what I read —my answer was a resounding and immediate ‘Hell, yes!’ Working on such a tremendous piece of IP from the mind of another sci-fi legend (who is also a contemporary of the true #1 Gene Roddenberry), will be both an honor and a dream for me.”

Arthur C. Clarke collaborator Paul Preuss is also on board as a consultant.

The official synopsis for the novel’s first entry, Breaking Strain, sets this series up as a sci-fi whodunnit. In the first book, “When a team of scientists is trapped in the gaseous inferno of Venus, Sparta must risk her life to save them, unaware that her actions will help recover a mysterious artifact: irrefutable evidence of life on another planet. As the secrets of the artifact are revealed, Sparta uncovers a mystery that may lead her to the truth about her own identity.”

The novel series spanned six installments that were published between 1987 and 1991 and drew from Arthur C. Clarke’s short story called “Breaking Strain.” 

Cormican and Anand Ramayya and Juliette Hagopian are series producers. Exec producers are Volume Global’s Christopher Rush Harrington and Michael Hamilton-Wright, along with Claxson’s Roberto Vivo and Bernd Schlötterer of Palatin Media.

Executive producer Lucas Vivo Garcia Lagos added: “Bringing ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime’ to audiences is a huge privilege and responsibility. These books, along with the incredible characters and storylines, have been with me since my adolescence; I have always believed this IP has all the necessary elements to become a major blockbuster. By uniting the collective talents of Preuss, Cormican, and Hill with Jonathan Frakes at the helm, we are confident we have assembled the perfect team to realize the cinematic vision we all share for this iconic property.”